Ac blowing hot

[Rgarner]

It was fine. Lately I tried to use it and instead of the good cold air it's apparently at 86 F. Larry (not real name) couldn't help but I'm giving him props anyway for being early (!) knowledgeable and professional, with a sense of humor. I hope I can include a photo or 2 for your delectation.

 

[rootabaga]

Given the dearth of details I think this thread is full of hot air…

 

[Rgarner]

Ha ha, it's a wall unit by LG. It has been unplugged most of the time because the on/off switch doesn't work right. The controls look straightforward enough but aren't very responsive. They're under a panel at the top right. Somebody has been sleeping nearby and is too grouchy to allow pictures to be taken just yet.

 

[Unforgiven]

When was the last time it was cold?

 

[Rgarner]

I guess it was a few days ago. When it works, it's great, and it's hot today. The funny thing is that there's a thermostat on the wall near the kitchen, not that close to the ac, and I don't know if there's some kind of connection between them. The batteries were replaced maybe a couple of months ago, but that may or may not have anything to do with it.

 

[Rgarner]

 

[mikedt]

It was fine. Lately I tried to use it and instead of the good cold air it's apparently at 86 F. Larry (not real name) couldn't help but I'm giving him props anyway for being early (!) knowledgeable and professional, with a sense of humor. I hope I can include a photo or 2 for your delectation.

I had an AC do that once, it was only blowing warm/hot air. And it was the compressor in the outside unit had died. Loss of refrigerant can also cause an AC not to cool the air as well. Both faults, definitely require a professional AC technician to fix.

 

[olbriar]

Looking at your pictures the unit is on. I see no indicator lights on. I would think stepping through multiple ticks on the mode button until the cool indicator light is on. Plus or minus the temp desired. Fan button to toggle between hi fan and low fan. If the unit if functional, you should soon appreciate the refrigerated air.

 

[Rgarner]

Thanks, I'll try that. I sure hope it isn't something expensive. It's always something, isn't it?

 

[ozonetrooper]

Do you still have the owners manual ?

The readout is displaying an error code, that should help in determining the issue.

A quick google search does not find that code ...

 

[Rgarner]

Yeah, that's a good one...owner's manual. It's probably no older than 2016, though. Maybe there's a manual available online for it.

 

[puppykickr]

Looks like a heat/AC combo unit in a hotel.

 

[Rgarner]

It's probably not that good. Since it"s upstairs there's not much chance of repairing an outdoor compressor, though replacing coolant is maybe a possibility. I would say the maintenance there is a joke, but isn't one of those supposed to be funny?

 

[mikedt]

Looks like a heat/AC combo unit in a hotel.

They're quite common here in China, for both AC and heat. Usually there's an outside and an inside unit, connected via hoses and cable. You're supposed to clean the filter periodically, and empty the water collector, but other than that they tend to be maintenance free.


BTW some places that have the outside units over the street, like apartment blocks, you can actually be fined if your AC is dripping water.
https://www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pleasant_environment/library/aircon/CheckMaintainAC(text).pdf
Dripping from air‐conditioners is an annoying problem. Under the Public Health and
Municipal Services Ordinance, Chapter 132, a person allows his air‐conditioner to
discharge water in such a manner to be a nuisance is an offence. The penalty can be
$10,000 with a daily fine of $200

 

[puppykickr]

Yeah, that's a good one...owner's manual. It's probably no older than 2016, though. Maybe there's a manual available online for it.

https://www.manualslib.com/

 

[ozonetrooper]

Before investing a lot of time and money in fixing it, check what a new one costs.

 

[Rgarner]

The other day it was at last providing cool, though not cold, air. The following morning it was on the hotter side. It's been unplugged for now. I would like to get one of those manuals but I don't know which because I can't find the model number on the machine. Maybe it's underneath it, which would be almost impossible to read...on purpose? No, it isn't under the little door over the controls. Perhaps I should just check out any of those guides because they're probably pretty similar.

 

[puppykickr]

Yeah, i would go with whatever looks closest.

Sometimes there is a picture of the product on the coversheet.

 

[ozonetrooper]

All you need is to identify what it is saying, in this case I am leaning towards low/no refrigerant level.

Window units do not come with a charging port, one must be added to access the level inside the machine. To do this means one can then charge it up if it is indeed low, and if the leak is a real slow one it will cool until the level is lower than normal operating range.

If the code is saying something else then there is no need to add a charging port.

 

[puppykickr]

Not sure about home units, but in an automotive unit there is dye you can add to the coolant (some coolant has dye in it already) and with yellow tint glasses and a blacklight flashlight you can find any leaks.

 

[ozonetrooper]

FWIW, I would never put dye in any of my units or my customers units.

There are more reliable ways to find leaks, and there are also common area's to look for them.

Non-condensibles are things in the system that can not be compressed, air, water, bits of O-rings etc.

The dye manufacturers claim the dye is condensible, I have concerns with that.

Dye is really only helpful in large commercial systems, think the size of a house, not residential split systems or window units.

Anyone who feels the need to use dye on a window unit prolly got no business messing with it to begin with.

I have been doing A/C & Heating work for over 35 years and am not aware of any units containing dye from the factory.


just my 2 cents

 

[puppykickr]

FWIW, I would never put dye in any of my units or my customers units.

There are more reliable ways to find leaks, and there are also common area's to look for them.

Non-condensibles are things in the system that can not be compressed, air, water, bits of O-rings etc.

The dye manufacturers claim the dye is condensible, I have concerns with that.

Dye is really only helpful in large commercial systems, think the size of a house, not residential split systems or window units.

Anyone who feels the need to use dye on a window unit prolly got no business messing with it to begin with.

I have been doing A/C & Heating work for over 35 years and am not aware of any units containing dye from the factory.


just my 2 cents

I work in automotive repair, and the dye is how we find leaks in automotive AC units.

There are hidden areas you would not find without it, at least not in a timely manner.

And it has to be condensible, right(?), as it is the coolant.

So what are these more reliable ways to locate leaks?

 

[ozonetrooper]

The electronic detector works real good but one must be familiar with sensitivity settings and false alarms.

Another is the old standby, the flame/hose/copper disk tool. It is almost foolproof and can pinpoint the leak quite well.

I rely on the copper disk method when the electronic method is not telling me exactly the leak is.

 

[Bearsyzf]

yeah, i would check the Freon ...... it's probably out.

 

[Rgarner]

I sure hope it doesn't run on freon. That junk was banned years ago, but there's probably still some available on the black market. How would we find out what it actually uses, discover if it's low, and refill it?